Seven reasons why we all need slow tech in our lives

26 November 2019

Health benefits

Labour saving devices are great but technology is now so advanced and so integrated into our lives that we are seeing an effect on our physicality. We are being effected on both a macro and micro scale. Slow Tech projects allow us not just to be physically active but also to hone our fine motor skills as we whittle wood, weave thread or simply mould clay.

Slow Tech

Mental health benefits

However, technology isn’t just affecting us physically, it is having an impact on our mental health. Addiction to the internet and social media has been proven to have a negative impact akin to alcohol use. Limiting screen time and engaging in repetitive but rewarding tactile tasks gives us a chance to tune out but also tune in to the real world around us on a fundamental level.

Sustainability

As we face record levels of greenhouse gases, engaging in Slow Tech enables us to become acutely aware of just how much energy is involved in quite simple processes. In our lives we have centralised and outsourced production of most items that we come across, from textiles to furniture and from food to jewellery, everything still requires the same amount of energy as when it was all made locally and used local materials.

Creativity

Reams of photographs, the dreaded like button and let’s not mention “the haters”, can put an unnecessary amount of pressure on being creative. In Slow Tech I like to think there are no rules. Projects are moulded very much by the individual but are also steered as much by the direct environment in which they happen and the materials that are to hand. The possibilities are endless.

Collaboration

Building a shelter or a den in the garden is rewarding and possible to do on your own but Slow Tech projects like these are often better done with someone else be it a friend or a family member. As our lives become more integrated we also become more independent and although we work together often it is not with people in the same room. Sometimes it’s just fun to all get your hands dirty and get stuck in.

Communication

One of the benefits of working together on a physical project from camp cooking to drystone walling is talking to each other. Slow Tech projects necessitate communication from basic logistics all the way up to philosophical musings and the sharing of hopes and dreams.

Relaxation

Perhaps the most important reason for engaging in Slow Tech is to relax. We all need to switch off but sometimes that can be hard to do. Sometimes we don’t know what we are missing. Sitting down on a bench outside with a pile of willow wands and weaving them into a basket or rolling out some clay and coiling the elongated rolls into a pot is calming because it is simple yet complex, it is tactile, it allows our minds to wander yet stay engaged and at the end of it we have made something that we can use.